Broken Mug
by ensiathe3rd
Summary: It's not enough to hear; you have to listen. It's not enough to see; you have to understand. It's not enough to touch; you have to feel. It's not enough to taste; you have to experience. It's not enough to smell; you have to seek out the truth. Most stories will change at least slightly depending on who is telling it and this is no exception.
1. Seeing

**disclaimer; i do not own Lab Rats**

Seeing

"Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, my side, and the truth."

J. Michael Straczynski

As it turned out, Leo and Mr. Davenport were correct in getting a head start. Though, of course, Chase was verily well certain that Leo was in more trouble than Mr. Davenport. After all, it was Leo's fault, just Mr. Davenport's invention. Still, Janelle and Tasha were beyond furious and Chase was smart enough to not try and get in the way. One near death experience per day, thank you. Leo and Mr. Davenport would be on their own.

Soon the two sopping wet women went outside and began their pursuit after the boys, and left the three bionic siblings alone in the living room. Chase and his two older siblings laughed with each other; he had had some time to think when he was trapped below the snow. Three hours with nothing to do but contemplate his life, he had figured "why not?" He realized that even though they treated him badly, mocked him and never gave him the credit, he still loved them. He could look past their flaws and forgive them. He could be the bigger man.

Chase turned and saw Bree smiling in amusement. However, when he caught her eye, her smile fell and she looked away from him. She wouldn't meet his eyes again and Chase frowned at her. Then it dawned on him, she was probably still mad about the whole cross-double cross stunt he had pulled. He understood why she would be a bit hurt by it, but really she needed to understand that there was no other way he could have done what he did successfully, he had done the math. Adam must've sensed the change in emotion, because he stopped laughing and looked at his younger siblings. An awkward silence fell over the three, until Bree shook her head and turned on them to walk to the kitchen area.

Chase watched her go. He turned to Adam and they shared a look before Adam shrugged and put a hand on Chase's shoulder, "Good to have you back, buddy." It didn't sound warm or enthusiastic by any stretch of the imagination, but Chase could tell it was sincere. Still, for all its sincerity, Chase couldn't help but be hurt that Adam put in less enthusiasm in welcoming Chase back from over a day lost in the frozen tundra of Antarctica during a blizzard, than he did welcoming Leo back from Saturday detention. Chase gave Adam a fleeting smile nonetheless which Adam returned briefly before leaving Chase's side to walk over to Bree.

By now, the middle bionic had gotten out a kettle and was grabbing milk out of the refrigerator. Even from half the room away, Chase could see her hands shaking as she held it. Adam bounded over to her and a smile lit up his face, "Hey Bree, you making hot chocolate because I could go for some right now." he said with more enthusiasm than that which he had welcomed Chase back. She looked up and smiled at him. Chase watched as Adam walked around the counter and stole the milk from her grasp. Bree let him have it. Then like they had done it a million times before, and for all Chase knew they had, Adam walked around Bree and poured a generous amount of milk into the kettle. He put the kettle on the stove and used his heat vison to bring it to the appropriate heat. Bree meanwhile weaved her way around her elder brother to the cupboards. Out of one cabinet she pulled a bin of chocolate powder and out of another she grabbed two mugs, one for each hand and set them down on the counter.

Chase felt awkward standing in the middle of the room in his mission suit watching them. Seeing her pull down only two mugs felt like a shot to the heart. They were a team, hustle and muscle. They worked together in a way that Chase couldn't understand no matter how much he wanted to. He saw how they almost seemed to perfectly in tune with the other. Adam was fiercely protective of Bree. Bree was patient and firm with Adam. Chase had often wondered if they had some sort of telepathy between them with how well they worked in tangent with one another. The joy they shared, the strength they always could find in the other, Adam and Bree had a bond stronger than anything Chase had ever seen, heard of, or read about. And it hurt. It hurt Chase to know that he would never be a part of that. He was the odd man out; no wonder they had left him in Antarctica.

Then Chase saw Bree turn and pull a third mug from the cabinet. Chase couldn't help but smile as his heart swelled and the hurt started to dissipate, his vision started to fog with unshed tears. Before she could set it down, Bree lost her footing and reached out to catch herself on the countertop. She succeeded in staying upright, but he mug had fallen from her fingers and shattered against the floor.

The pain returned tenfold. Chase didn't think; he just left. He ran to the elevator and went back down to the lab. Chase didn't know what he was feeling, didn't know whether to cry or to scream. He ran his hand through his hair and tried to calm his erratic breathing. His vision blurred, every sound felt far away. Cold radiated off of Douglass' ice cube but Chase paid it no heed; he already felt cold inside. He thought he had made his peace with it but he was wrong. Chase Davenport was wrong. He believed they would come for him with everything that he was. They left him. He needed help, and they left him to die buried in the snow. And he still chose them. He loved them more than anything, but it felt like they didn't feel the same. Whatever Adam and Bree had, he could never be a part of it, he would always be on the outside, he would always be left behind and it _hurt_. Agony shot through his chest. He slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. Something shifted in him, and Chase pulled his knees to his chest and rested his elbows on his knees. He rested his head on his intertwined hands, the skin felt warm to his cold self. He felt like he'd never be warm again. Something wet slid down his cheeks, and Chase made no effort to stop more from coming.

Upstairs, two mugs were safe on the countertop and one lay shattered on the ground.


	2. Hearing

**disclaimer; i do not own lab rats**

Hearing

"It is silent, an anagram for listen.

That is what I do. Listen while she remains silent."

Eric Jerome Dickey

Adam wasn't book smart. He would never claim to be. Adam wasn't street smart. He did know how to get to and from school, but that was about his limit. He was often times distracted and certain social cues escaped him. He preferred to think with his muscles rather than his brain. He was slow and he would admit that it wasn't a difficult task to outsmart him. But Adam wasn't stupid. Often times, he felt like he saw the world with more clarity than most. People looked at him weird and talked down to him (something Adam couldn't figure since he was often times the tallest in any setting). People didn't believe that sometimes there was a simple answer underneath the whole complicated mess that life was. However simple as his solutions to life's problems may be; when they kept working, Adam saw no reason to change how he went about his life. That didn't make him stupid or dumb, and sometimes being oblivious made life hurt less.

Adam wasn't stupid. He could tell something was wrong the second the laughter he shared with his siblings died. The entire day had been an emotional roller-coaster for all of them. Which wasn't as fun as it sounded. Adam wasn't sure what to think, he just wanted the laughter to continue. Laughter was his default. Laughter made the hurt go away. The hurt that had been building and building until he wanted to rip his heart out of his chest just to make it stop. And now that the laughter was gone, it all came to the surface.

For all his obliviousness, he understood death. He just didn't want to focus on it. Sometimes he wished his life was a cartoon where all the characters could fall off of really high things and blow up a bunch of times and still come out okay every time. Also, he would want to be super stretchy like some cartoons are so he didn't have to get up from the couch to get a snack. He could just reach over to the kitchen and grab what he needed without pausing his show. It would make life so much easier. Anyway, Adam did understand that sadly, people were different from cartoons and people could die. The second, he heard Bree say that there was an avalanche at Chase's location, he knew enough to know that there was a very small chance of bringing his baby brother back home. What he didn't understand was_ why?_ Adam was far from the smartest person, but he did understand that what Chase did was really stupid. The thought sent him reeling; Chase had said that he wanted to prove that without super strength and super speed he could still get the job done. What would dying prove?

Bree's voice was the only thing that brought him back from the dusty corners of his mind. Adam wasn't stupid, he knew that the mission was more than likely going to be to retrieve a body than to save Chase. And like he did with most of his problems, he decided he didn't _care, _because whether he was looking for a body or Chase, Adam wasn't going to give up. Even if he had to fight off a tribe of Eskimo's who thought Chase was a penguin, he promised himself that he wasn't going home without finding his brother.

He watched the reason he broke his promise walk away from him and Chase. He heard her boots scuff and thud against the floor; usually when she walked there was a bounce and a rhythm. But it was gone. His heart felt like it would explode out of his chest and it thudded terribly in his ears. It was all he could hear. He had hurt her and there was nothing he could do to change that. She was hurting and it was all his fault. He turned to Chase and saw his own hurt and confusion reflected back. Adam wasn't stupid, he knew his brother was hurting too, but Adam wasn't so smart that he could figure out what to do about it. Adam didn't know what he would do if he really had lost Chase. He imagined it would be like when Bree made him leave Gary behind earlier today but so much worse. He tried to bring out all of the happiness that swelled in his chest when he saw that his brother was alive and well. But every time he tried, all the hours of fear, worry, anger, sadness, exhaustion, and running around Antarctica climbed to the front of his mind. He was drowning in it. He put his hand on Chase's shoulder, desperate for an anchor to reality. The waves of his guilt were crashing down on his shoulders, and as rare as it was, Adam didn't know if he was strong enough to hold its weight.

He couldn't be happy no matter how much he wanted to be. And that thought was foreign to Adam; he could almost always find a reason to be happy even in the worst situations. So he spoke the truth, "Good to have you back, buddy." No more, anymore and Adam felt that he might break, and Adam had to be stronger than that. Chase smiled at him, and Adam knew he understood. Chase was the smart one for a reason. Adam's heart thudded in his ears as he forced himself to return the smile.

Now, he had to deal with Bree. She was getting the tea pot and the milk out. If Adam knew anything, he knew Bree; she was upset. Adam trudged over to her. Hope swelled in his chest; hot chocolate made everything better. "Hey Bree, you making hot chocolate because I could go for some right now." For a moment, she didn't respond and Adam was sure she was still hurt by what he did. Then, she looked up and smiled sadly at him. Adam felt his shoulders relax slightly. She wasn't angry with him. She wasn't the same old Bree, but as long as she didn't hate him, he could work with that. With happiness starting to fight for dominance in his chest, he bounded around the counter to her. Quickly but as gently as he could he took the tea pot and the jug of milk from her grasp. It wasn't hard, her grip was really weak. Mr. Davenport had said she could be for a while. He poured the milk into the tea pot and heated it up like he did those late nights when neither could sleep and they wasted the night away playing go-fish. It was something that belonged to him and Bree and them alone, even when Mr. Davenport was giving Chase all the attention and left them to fend for themselves because Chase was the smart one and only he could understand Mr. Davenport's techno- mumbo-jumbo. Even when they both felt so cramped in the small lab where neither could push the limits of their abilities; in the dead of night, they had hot chocolate, they had go-fish, they had each other. Adam wouldn't trade that for the world; he wasn't stupid.

He heard the soft thud as the tub of chocolate powder landed on the counter next to the stove. He went to grab the spoons, and he heard two clinks as Bree put down the mugs down on the counter. He wondered if they could start a drum circle, but then again, drum circles only worked well with at least five people. Maybe, when Leo and Mr. Davenport came back, if Tasha and Janelle didn't hurt them too much, they could all join. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his and Chase's mugs resting peacefully on the countertop. Adam smiled; he had been worried that she and Chase were upset with each other. Adam might not have been the brightest crayon in the box but he knew something wasn't right between the two of them, but he wasn't so smart that he knew what it was or what to do about it. It made his heart hurt to think that something broke with them. Adam just knew he had to fix it. After all, they needed each other and they relied on one another. Adam strained to figure out what went wrong, but his mind was fuzzy and nothing came to mind. It figured that the one of the few times Adam actually tried to use his brain; it didn't do him any good. He wondered if duct tape was an option, but quickly dismissed it. This felt more like a super glue problem.

He knew one thing for certain; Chase would have been able to tell that Bree was overusing her bionics. He would have stopped her before her chip overloaded. He wouldn't have pressured her to keep running. He wouldn't have let her get hurt. Chase would have been a better brother. Adam had missed the signs. A deafening crash broke him away from his thoughts. He looked over at his little sister leaning heavily on the counter. She was really pale and the black of her mission suit only made it worse. He looked down and saw the shards of Bree's mug scattered across the floor of the kitchen. He heard multiple thuds and turned just in time to catch Chase running to the elevator. He called out to his brother, but Chase kept running. Adam was torn between running after his brother and staying with his sister. The sound of Bree's slow, staggered breathing convinced him to stay. He would find out what was wrong with Chase later. Adam wasn't stupid but he wasn't sure how to approach her. Adam wondered if she was going to pass out again. He tried to catch her eyes but she stared at the broken pieces of mug on the floor as if hypnotized by them.

She and Chase were closer than Adam could ever hope to be to either of them. They were both the smartest, and so when the time came to make a plan, it was them who came up with it. They were the dynamic duo, and they worked together so well. Adam's younger siblings kept each other in check. Bree could talk down Chase when his pride got the better of him and he became mean. Chase could slow Bree down when she stopped working with her brain and started working with her super speed. Bree had just run all over Antarctica for him, and the overuse of her bionics to dangerous levels was for him. Adam often found himself jealous of the relationship they had. They had something together that he knew he could never be a part of. He was the odd man out. And it _hurt_. But he didn't care, he was the big brother and it was his responsibility to look after them regardless of how he felt. He may not be smart enough to understand everything, but he wanted to try. Bree lifted her head to the spot where Chase had been standing. Adam stood back while she stared at the spot with almost a desperate longing until he saw a tear run down her pale cheek. At a speed that would impress even Bree, Adam stepped over the broken shards and pulled his baby sister into an embrace. There was a moment of shock as she stood stiff in his grasp before for the second time that day, she collapsed in his arms. He managed to keep her upright. He held her gently but tightly against himself. She was light and felt so small in his arms. She was trembling. Bree needed Chase, but Adam didn't know where their brother had run off to. Adam couldn't help her, only Chase could, and he left her. If Bree and Chase couldn't stand together, then what hope was there for the rest of them?

Adam wondered if it would have been any different had Evil Uncle Daddy not have saved Chase. That's when reality hit him harder than Adam had ever been hit before. And man it was _painful_. He clutched Bree tighter, only to loosen his hold slightly when he heard a sharp intake of breath. He rested his head on top of hers. He didn't speak; words escaped his reality. She didn't say a word, she didn't have to, he heard her loud and clear. He wasn't Chase, but he would have to do. Her shoulders shook, but no sound escaped her. Adam continued to hold her. He could and he would hold her for however long as she needed him to. Afterword, they would go find Chase and try to fix whatever it was between them that was broken, Adam would make certain of it, even if he did have to use duct tape. Adam wasn't stupid but he had no idea what he should do. He just wanted the laughter back. Tears sprung to his eyes and he let them fall. He would be strong for his brother and sister. After all, strength was what he was best at, but for now, he would be slightly weak. After all, he and Bree had both almost lost the most important person in the world to the pair of them. Adam figured a little weakness was to be expected.

The silence was deafening, and around them, a mug lay shattered on the ground and only time would tell if the shards could ever be put back together and make a whole mug again.


	3. Touching

**disclaimer; i do not own lab rats, or the show Lab Rats**

Touching

"If I could touch anything in the world right now, it would be your heart. I want to take that piece of you and keep it with me." Jessica Verday

Leo had this thing about him that always got him into some kind of trouble or another. Bree couldn't figure out what it was but as annoying as the trait got sometimes; Bree couldn't help but find some of the situations he wrangled himself into amusing. So as Janelle and Tasha ran after her youngest brother and father, she couldn't help but laugh. It came surprisingly easy to her. A half an hour earlier she thought she may never laugh again. But now she never wanted to stop. So she laughed, because her brother was home safe and sound, because she didn't have to worry about Douglass attacking her family anymore, because Leo's antics were funny and just because. Bit by bit the weight she had been carrying removed itself from her shoulders. She had adjusted to the weight and didn't realize how heavy it actually was until it was gone. Its absence made her lightheaded. Then she caught Chase's eye and it all crashed down on her shoulders so suddenly her knees almost buckled underneath her. The air ran from her lungs faster than Bree could ever hope of going.

She wanted to hit him for all the worry he caused them. She wanted to hug him for coming back to them. She wanted to hate him for leaving. She wanted to love him for choosing them. She was angry, relieved, sad, happy, hurt, guilty, and confused. She couldn't meet his eyes. He had said that the reason he went out was to prove himself to them. It wasn't. It was for her and Adam to prove themselves to him. Bree couldn't decide if they had succeeded. She sure didn't feel like it. She didn't see it in his eyes. Bree and Adam had been caught in the middle of that snow storm for hours, but they had given up on finding him, they had left before they found him. Bree didn't consider it a total failure on their part, after all, there really wasn't anything to find and it would have been pointless for them to keep looking. But if that was the case then why did the guilt upon her shoulders keep increasing in weight? Bree felt Chase's eyes on her but couldn't find it in her to look Chase in the eye. It only served to remind her of the guilt she felt on the ride back home when she was so certain that it was her fault they couldn't save him. Bree was a middle child in every respect, smarter than Adam and stronger than Chase, a balancing point between them. But it wasn't enough, Bree wasn't strong enough to keep running but she wasn't smart enough to stop. Speed was what Bree was best at, but she wasn't fast enough.

She couldn't keep up with the slew of thoughts and feelings that pelted her consciousness at mind blowing speeds. Each one made her dizzy with guilt and the weight of Chase's stare almost sent her to her knees. She should be happy, her brother was with her, but she thought she had lost him twice today alone and the hurt was coming at her in waves with no hope of release. Considering her tendency to run into solid objects at 50+ miles per hour, Bree was no stranger to pain, but this was near unbearable. Bree shook her head to try and free her mind from the chains of negative thoughts rushing through her, but it did nothing. Bree did what she did best, she ran. Well, not run per say, with the tirade of emotions she was feeling, Bree was certain she would glitch again if she tried plus her dad had recommended against using her bionics again. What she did do was move herself away from the situation causing her stress. Her gigantic snow boots were heavy and made her feel slow and clumsy and she didn't really know where she was headed. She thought about going to the lab, but if she was completely honest with herself, Douglass freaked her out. Even trapped in a block of ice, Bree wanted nothing to do with the man. Without even realizing what she was doing, she walked around the counter and went for the kettle. Ever since she and her brothers were allowed out of the basement, warm milk had always been her go to when she was stressed.

Bree was smart enough to realize that there was no running from the elephant in the room. She just wasn't ready to face it and there was no rule saying she couldn't stall at least for a little bit. Not everything she did had to be fast. Either way, she figured that if they were going to have to talk, it might as well be with warm drinks. She opened the fridge and grabbed the milk, hating how weak her grip was.

Across the way, she heard Adam say something to Chase, but she wasn't really paying attention. Adam sounded disheartened. Bree shivered, she had thought she had enough cold for one day, apparently the universe had different plans. If Adam told Chase what had happened… She didn't know. She glitched before; they all had. They got emotional and their bionics malfunctioned, it wasn't anything new. Except for the memory Bree couldn't shake of every muscle in her body deciding that it didn't want to go on and shutting down on her. All she saw was white as her world faded to black. Bree didn't want to go back to that, but how else could she explain to Chase that they didn't just abandon him. She knew in part how that felt and it wasn't pleasant.

She heard the powerful thuds of Adam's stride in his boots that looked even too big for him. "Hey Bree, you making hot chocolate because I could go for some right now." Bree knew his enthusiasm was faked, they had all been through an experience that not even Adam could walk away from without some scarring. The only difference was that while Bree knew she wanted everything to be okay, her big brother _needed _it. Bree had no idea where they were supposed to go from there, but Adam was right; they could _all_ use some hot chocolate right about now. She smiled appreciatively at him through the tirade of guilt, and he took that as her yes. Adam went around the counter and took the milk and kettle from her cold hands. Only when they were gone did she realize exactly how heavy they felt to her. Mr. Davenport had said that it could take some time for her bionics and just her in general to be back at full form. With how fast she normally healed, Bree figured she'd be fine in a few more hours.

A part of her wondered why Adam was here with her and not across the room with Chase. Another part wondered why Chase hadn't followed them over. Bree had thought that neither would want to leave the other's side. For how much they teased each other, pick on each other and got on each other's nerves, they were really close. Brothers to the end. They could hate each other at times (a fair amount of the time), but when push came to shove they had each other's backs. They pushed each other, challenged each other to be the best they could be, and complemented each other to a T. Their relationship was filled with a lot of strife on both sides, but as soon as they could put their pride aside they could learn from the other and both always came out better as a result. They were the epitome of Brain vs. Brawn and when they worked in tandem, it was amazing what they could accomplish. Bree couldn't be a part of that relationship. She was the odd man out. And it hurt. It was brains and brawn, not brains and brawn and speed. It just didn't work. It also didn't help that when they were united, most of the time they were united against her. But as annoying as it was when they ganged up on her, a part of her was comforted by the knowledge that they were doing it together, as they should be. Brothers to the end. Sister could hang back to keep what was between them from breaking.

She grabbed the old tub of chocolate powder from one of the many cabinets in their kitchen and set it on the counter beside the stove where Adam had already used his heat vision to warm the milk in the kettle. The action would normally have brought her some semblance of comfort, but she kept running through her mind that Chase still hadn't followed Adam over. Bree wasn't sure what she wanted him to do. Her emotions were torn and scattered between wanting to talk to him and wanting to avoid him like the plague. She didn't understand. She resolutely grabbed the first two mugs she saw out of the cabinet and set them down. Normally she would have grabbed three at once but she figured, baby steps. Taking two trips slowed her down, which she hated, but the last thing she needed was for another thing to go wrong that day.

She grabbed the final mug out of the cabinet. All the thoughts and emotions were making her dizzy again. Her boots were too big for her liking, she always hated them. Her right foot scuffed the floor awkwardly. It happened faster than even she could comprehend. She didn't even remember falling, but the next thing she knew her hand against the cold countertop was the only thing keeping her up. Her heart raced faster than she was comfortable with, she wasn't even aware why it freaked her out so much. Again she had a tendency to run into things, she fell all the time. She always got back up, no worse for wear. Her eyes caught sight of the shattered mug on the floor, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. That's what it was like when something fell and broke. She wondered what she would look like if it should ever come to that.

The sound of heavy footfalls invaded her ears. Chase left, she should go after him. The very thought of moving made her knees weak and she clutched the countertop even harder. She tried taking deep breaths to slow the frantic thumping of her heart. It didn't' work. Her thoughts were everywhere and nowhere all at once. She couldn't focus on anything except the scattered pieces of ceramic on the floor. She pulled herself together enough to shift her gaze to the place where Chase had stood just seconds before. He was gone again. One day and she had lost him three times. She had gotten lucky with the first two not being as permanent as they first appeared. She wondered if her luck would hold out this time. For the first time that day, she allowed a tear to run down her cheek.

Bree felt Adam's arms engulf her. She was almost shocked at how fast the boy had moved. For a half a second, Bree wanted to push him away and tell him that they had to go after Chase. But then, for all of her considerable pain tolerance, she couldn't take the hurt anymore and her knees buckled. Her brother caught her and kept her up. She didn't want to run from what she was feeling anymore. Adam's grip was firm and strong around her, and she found herself wanting to stay in his warm embrace forever where nothing could ever hurt her again. She knew it was selfish, but running was what she was best at. Adam tightened his grip so much it hurt. She hissed in pain and he lightened his grip. She pressed her face further into the material of his mission suit, and faster than she could stop, more tears joined the first. Her shoulders shook violently with her silent sobs. She felt Adams chin on the top of her head and she had to wonder how much he really understood. Her big brother had a habit of surprising her from time to time with just how much he picked up. This seemed like something he would get. The guilt, pain, and sadness were crushing her and there was nothing she could do to stop them; not that she was willing to really try anymore. She had to make things right, but how could she when she felt so wrong? She gave in to the rampaging emotions as she slowly let go of the pain. She would find Chase and as a family they would try to put together the pieces of their shattered spirits. Bree was too scared to think of the alternative.

A broken mug was dangerous underfoot, it would hurt anyone who unwittingly came upon it, and unfortunately, all that could be done was sweep it up and throw it away.


	4. Tasting

**disclaimer; i do not own lab rats**

**AN; They needed to talk; there was no other way around it. Ensia.**

Tasting

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." Eleanor Roosevelt

She watched with great sadness as her youngest ran to her for comfort she could not offer. Not to say he wasn't comforted by her, no she had always been a source of comfort to her babies. She would do her best, but one can only get so much comfort from metal walls and wiring machinery. Still, as he slipped to her floor she let him lean on her as he cried. She hummed a familiar, soothing tune to calm him down and let him know she was there for him. It was all she could do. She knew that the kind of comfort he needed, he couldn't find within her safe walls but with her eldest two, his brother and sister. She could only hope they came soon. She had protected them throughout most of their lives, kept them safe and warm and happy. But outside her walls, she couldn't save them from the horrors of the world beyond. That's what they had each other for. She felt cold inside. Douglass's presence still chilled her, but there was nothing she could do about it. Being helpless was something she was used to but the ache of it never ceased.

Time had little meaning to her as she calmed her child down, his cries eventually faded to heavy breathing. A ding and metal sliding against metal rung through her very being. They were sounds of hope. Chase heard them and quickly wiped his eyes free of tears. He scrambled around the bend in her wall and she unwillingly shielded him from the eyes of anyone coming from her elevator. Two sets of footsteps rebounded off her walls, one thundering and slow, the other quick and soft. Her eldest children walked in. Bree had a mug clutched in her hands, and a large blanket slung over her shoulders. Her feet were clad only in thick black socks which softened the blow of her feet hitting the floor. Adam held a steaming mug in each hand and what could only be Bree's discarded white boots hung by their laces over his right shoulder. It was terrible to see that the older two looked no better than her youngest. Pale and weary. Slightly red eyes screamed that they had cried recently. Bree's eyes gazed over the entrance into the main lab, her eyes made contact with the translucent prison that held their biological father. She took a deep breath, the air was surely too cold as it caused her to shiver and clutch her mug closer to herself. She turned to Adam and their eyes met. Both looked for solace in the other's gaze, but it was a matter of the blind leading the blind.

From behind her wall, Chase waited. Whether he was waiting for them to come to him, or for them to leave, she didn't know. She could only hope it was the former. He needed them; they needed him. Those children of hers were just too stubborn to admit it. A second, a soft foot step. Another. Bree walked slowly toward the ice prison. Adam silently followed her lead. Bree crossed the threshold first and looked to the right and then to the left. She came face to face with Chase. She took a startled step back and the mug she was holding fell from her fingers. Years of training under her watchful eye had done Chase well. The instant it slipped from Bree's grip, Chase took a step forward and snatched it out of the air. He didn't actually catch it, but it did freeze mid-fall and hung in the air. Chase stared at it carefully and made sure all of its contents were safe within before floating it into Bree's awaiting hands. Bree smiled at him, "Thanks."

Chase weakly smiled back at her and awkwardly cleared his throat, "You should be more careful, don't want to drop that." It wasn't his leader voice that could sometimes sound demeaning. It simply was the truth.

Bree nodded and looked down into her mug, then back up at Chase, "I guess that's why I have you."

Chase looked at the floor and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah."

Her eldest fidgeted under the negative environment, "You kind of ran away before the hot chocolate was done. Who does that?"

Chase shifted his feet but still wouldn't look at his siblings, "I'm not exactly a fan of hot chocolate."

"Of course you are, everyone is." Adam paused and considered his statement, "Well, except maybe Egyptians and lava monsters; they tend to prefer cold drinks." He said like it was an obvious piece of information that no one else understood. "It doesn't matter anyway, we brought you some, so just take it." He offered the mug in his right hand to Chase.

Chase looked at his siblings for half a second before grinning slightly and taking the offered mug off of Adam, "Thanks"

With his right hand now free, Adam shrugged off Bree's boots and tossed them across the room where they landed with a loud thud. Everyone winced at the noise, "Opps." It wasn't an apology, just an admittance.

More awkward silence as she tried to hum her children's worries away. Bree had taken to looking into her mug, Chase; the floor, and Adam couldn't find a grounding space to look at and simply avoided his siblings. "Why'd you do it?" Bree's voice barely broke over the sound of her humming. Desperation and brokenness flowed from her lips.

Though of course, for the boy with super hearing, the question reached his recognition regardless. Chase stared at his big sister in exaggerated disbelief. "I didn't have any other choice. Making Douglass think I was on his side was the best option. And now because of me, Douglass is trapped and can't hurt us anymore." Anger and frustration bled from his being. His words fell just short of shouting at his big sister. "I guess that just isn't enough for you guys."

Bree closed her eyes against his torrent. She shook her head and opened her eyes to look her little brother dead in the eye, "That's not what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean?! I get it Bree, I get that you're angry with me because I lied to you. But come on, that was the only way to stop Douglass. Can't you see that?"

"That isn't even half of why I'm angry with you, Chase." Bree took a deep breath and turned her back to her brother. "You just up and left to one of the most dangerous places on earth. You didn't tell anyone you were going." Her hands gripped the mug in her hand as if it were her last tie to reality. Super senses weren't needed to see her shaking, though of course whether it was from sorrow or anger was anyone's guess. She turned her head slightly toward her younger brother; her voice was deadly cold, "I want you, in your own words, to tell me _why_."

Chase turned toward the wall with their capsules, and scoffed, "You know why. It was all about 'hustle and muscle,' and I was just flash glue, but I don't need super strength or super speed to get the job done. I got home safe and sound, I took down Douglass, _and_ I gotthe sitanium by myself."

"Actually you didn't." The two youngest spun and stared at the eldest.

"What?"

Adam shifted, "Well, Douglass saved you. If it wasn't for him, you would have been a Chasicle."

That was a whole new can of worms, "Yeah, he came for me, didn't he?" He took a hard step toward his older brother, "Why didn't you? We're supposed to be family and you guys just left me to die." Chase once again looked at the floor. His eyes were glassy and he bit his lip.

Adam looked ready to reply but as always, Bree was faster, "I get it." Bree's voice was calmer than she had any right to be, "We're terrible siblings. We tease you, we mock you, and we never give you the respect you feel you deserve. I'm sorry for that. You deserve better siblings than us. I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do about that." She breathed deeply and a strangled sound came from her throat. "But Chase," her voice trembled, "we didn't spend _four_ hours running around _Antarctica _during a _blizzard _for _flash glue_." She took a hesitant step toward Chase, still trembling, "We did it for you. And we'd do it again and again if it meant keeping you with us. Whatever you may feel about us, you're kinda stuck with us. We love you too much to let you go."

A single wet line scarred Chase's cheek and he gripped his own mug with all of his might. "I thought you left me behind."

"We thought we lost you." Chase looked up at Bree, and their eyes met, both saw their own brokenness reflected back to them. There was understanding in that. Adam stood between the two and didn't know which way to go. He was just as lost as his siblings. Bree broke contact first. She turned toward the elevator once more, she stared at it and then she smiled and chuckled lightly. She turned back toward her brothers still lightly smiling, "Come on, I want to show you something we've forgotten." She walked around to Leo's desk. Bree traded her mug and blanket for a pen and paper. Her brothers hesitantly followed her. Once they were both looking over her shoulder, Bree took the pen and drew a familiar design. The same symbol represented on the elevator to the lab, the same one on their mission suits. Three circles all interconnecting. "This is us. Three circles together and interconnected, not two interconnected with one on the outside."

Both boys smiled at their sister, and Adam plopped a hand down on her shoulder. "Yeah"

Bree faced Chase, "So, We all agree we want to put this behind us." Both boys nodded. "So what do you say, Adam and I try to keep the bragging down a bit and should you feel the need to prove yourself to us again you don't do something so stupendously stupid; first you talk to us about it and if that doesn't work, instead of Antarctica, maybe consider a warmer location, perhaps the tropics."

Adam lit up, "Yeah, because then I get to see Gary again."

Bree and Chase looked at their brother, then back at each other before laughing. Adam never looked so proud of himself. Through the laughter Bree spoke, "So, do we have a deal?"

Chase laughed harder, "Yeah." He took her hand and they shook on it.

"Awesome! The gang's all back together again!" And with that Adam brought both of his siblings into an embrace which both earnestly returned.

It was brief. Bree pulled away, "Great now that that's over," She picked up the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, "I'm freezing."

"Hey, you're gonna share that with us, right?"

Bree laughed at them, "Not a chance."

Adam and Chase looked at each other and back to Bree. They smiled evilly. Bree's smile faded and her brother's lunged for her. She ducked under their arms and ran to the middle of the lab. Without her boots slowing her down, she made good time even without using her bionics. Wrapping the blanket tighter around herself, she smiled triumphantly, "You're gonna have to be faster than that."

Chase chuckled and folded his arms in front of him, "Didn't we just agree to keep the bragging to a minimum?"

Bree shrugged, "Baby steps Chase, and besides keeping it to a minimum doesn't mean killing it entirely. When you've got it, you've got it."

Chase rolled his eyes, but his smile never left his face. He and Adam lunged for their sister again. This time Adam caught her around the waist, picked her up and spun her around. She shrieked and it only served to make her brother's laugh harder. This time Chase folded his arms and smirked at her, "You were saying?"

Bree rolled her eyes playfully at him and squirmed halfheartedly in Adam's grip, "Come on, let me go."

Adam laughed at her, "Not a chance."

She watched on as her children laughed like they used to years ago. Before, when it was easy to be happy, they would laugh and play like the world was on their side and nothing could hurt them as long as they were together. She missed those times and for all the changes time was bound to bring she had always hoped they would keep that happiness with them. She knew her walls couldn't protect them forever, but for now they were with her, they were safe, they were happy. And that's all she ever really wanted. She just continued to hum and remind them that she was still there, and she wasn't intending on leaving them any time soon.

A mug that wouldn't break as long as someone realized it was falling in time to catch it.


	5. Smelling

**disclaimer; I do not own lab rats**

**AN ; I had some free time, so happy end of hiatus/new episode. Ensia**

Smelling

To smell fishy (idiom); to not seem to be truthful or honest (Cambridge dictionaries)

Leo opened the door as quietly as an accident prone hyperactive klutz such as himself, could. He had figured that Janelle would have gone home by now and he would have some time to avoid her while she calmed down. His mother on the other hand could have been lying in wait just beyond the door. Much like a tiger hidden by the darkness and trees of the jungle. No one wanted to get mauled by a tiger. Hence Leo was careful. He had hoped that maybe his mom caught up with Big D and forgot all about him. Wishful thinking perhaps, but he wasn't about ready to let go of hope just yet. He didn't have much else. He had been hiding out for several hours in various places around the neighborhood. Wasn't too hard, it was a _big _neighborhood. But it had quickly grown old and Leo's need for sleep overwhelmed his fear of his mother, mostly, he wasn't stupid.

Surprisingly, the house wasn't as asleep as it usually would be at nearly two in the morning. As soon as he stepped over the threshold he was blinded by the light of the television screen. The volume was down low and as long as the multicolored spots danced in his vision he was just as blind as he was outside on the dark street. He covered his eyes with his hand and hissed at the vicious attack on his retinas. "Leo." At the sudden sound of his name, albeit whispered, Leo's heart jumped into his throat and he took a staggered step back, he did _not_ scream. It was too quiet to be classified as such. Looking around, he saw on the couch his three siblings clad in their matching pajamas. Adam and Chase were clearly asleep and had curled into each other. Even in sleep, they were fighting for the large blanket that could have easily covered them both if they ever learned how to share. Normally, he would have taken a picture for blackmail later, but Leo couldn't bring himself to feel the desire to do so. His eyes settled on the third bionic who was clearly awake. Bree was smirking at him with a raised eyebrow. Leo straightened his clothes and tried to appear dignified. Bree wasn't buying it. He cleared his throat. Bree brought a finger to her lips and shushed him, she tilted her head toward their brothers. Leo nodded to her in understanding.

Leo knew he had been out of the loop today. This morning, they were all sitting around listening to Big D introduce his ice machine, but then Leo got caught up in his own problem of the week and had no idea what his siblings were up to. Just before Janelle showed up, Adam and Bree had said something about going to get some frozen yogurt once they found Chase. However, Leo was quite certain that a normal trip to the fro-yo store wouldn't end with everyone in their arctic mission gear and Douglass aiming a laser at them only to be ultimately frozen in a block of ice. He couldn't be sure, this family didn't do "normal" very well. Still, Leo felt uneasy at the prospect of frozen yogurt runs gone bad becoming a regular thing. Last time he almost ended at the bottom of the ocean and he was not eager for a repeat of any kind.

Either way it seemed that no one was the worse for wear and Leo was glad for it. He would have hated it if something really terrible happened to his siblings in his absence. With them all in such close quarters, Leo figured they must have worked through whatever they (or more accurately Chase) were upset about this morning. It was always nice when they didn't have to go to any extreme measures just to prove a point. Saved time and whatnot.

He wondered why they were on the couch and not downstairs in their capsules. The thought was quickly abated. Big D probably hadn't yet had time to remove Douglass from the lab and as tired as he was, not even Leo would want to sleep in the lab with that icicle no more than twenty feet away. A huge part of him wanted to know how they had gotten to that end, but a bigger part was more tired than curious and he knew without a doubt one of them (hopefully Adam, his story telling made life interesting) would tell him in the morning.

Leo saw Bree pull her legs to herself and curl up in a ball and scoot closer to Adam. The older boy subconsciously turned wrapped his arm around her shoulders (taking most of the blanket from Chase in the process) and pulled her closer to him. Leo considered plopping on the couch with them but rethought it. He had suddenly walked into their lives and while they had largely accepted him into their family, he hadn't known them nearly as long as they had known each other. They had this deep intimate connection with each other, they grew up together. Leo could never claim that. They were his best friends and most of the time the four of them were an inseparable team. But sometimes, Leo was reminded how he was the odd man out from his siblings and it hurt. Then again, he'd take all that pain for the time he had with his family, hands down and without a single doubt in his mind. Sometimes he just had to wonder what they would have been if he had never found the lab that day. When he had the time he found himself wondering if he was the glue that held them together, or the obstacle keeping them apart. On nights like these, when he saw them all curled up together, he felt that that was something sacred between just those three, and for him to intrude would be sacrilegious. He couldn't be the thing that broke them apart. Leo just couldn't.

So making up his mind, he silently pointed to himself and then to the stairs. Bree smiled sleepily at him and nodded. She waved him goodnight and turned her gaze back to the glowing television. If he knew Bree, she'd be off to sleep in no time. Leo made his way up the stairs as silently as an accident prone hyperactive klutz such as himself could manage. On the first landing he looked back down at them. On the coffee table sat three mugs, Leo figured they must have had some hot chocolate without him. Fair, most likely, he still was acting fugitive when they had it. The rational side of him had no problem with it, but the emotional side of him was a tad bit hurt. He shrugged it off. He knew he had no reason to be upset. When all was said and done, it didn't matter anyway. As he went the rest of the way to his room in the dark, he just hoped they hadn't used the one he had slightly cracked the other day.

Because everyone knows, mugs break easier when they are already broken.


End file.
